Well, almost. Three of the original UCB members display
their trademark rapport in their new home.

Pictured: Matt Besser and Matt Walsh

LOS
ANGELES -- Three of the original four Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre members
-- Matt Besser, Ian Roberts and Matt Walsh -- have been firmly ensconced in
their new L.A. theater for about a year now. As a result, this trio, with a few
fellow performers, are together most Sunday nights for their own “Asssscat 3000”
show, a New York tradition since 1999.

Besser, Roberts and Walsh have improvised together for so long now that they are
like a family with each other. It’s very apparent they know each other inside
and out, as in their August 27 show, when Besser challenges Roberts to use a
cultural reference later than 1995, teasing him as being an old man. (Roberts
had filled in a needed song name by saying “The Long and Winding Road.”)

The performers, namely Roberts, heighted the family feeling by even welcoming an
audience member to shake his hand on stage (Roberts had supposedly washed after
scratching his behind, which had inspired disgust from his stagemates). And
actually, the unknown audience member pulled off a comic coup, licking Roberts’
hand then sitting back in his seat stone faced and blank, not laughing at all.

Anyway, performing with Andrew Daly, Sean Conroy and Chad Carter -- all UCB
performers who have made the move to L.A. either recently or several years ago
to pursue comedic acting opportunities -- the original trio quite effortlessly
conjures whole worlds, working off guest monologist Shonali Bhowmik’s stories of
life on the road with her rock band.

Daly became an innkeeper reluctant to turn on the lights because of monsters
hiding in the shadows), with Walsh as the bewildered guest. Besser, playing one
of the scary creatures, strangely said, “AIDS. Fart.” fueling an entire new joke
within the scene once Roberts asked him what he meant exactly. “I was reading an
article about AIDS. Then I farted and said ‘fart,’ Besser said.

Bhowmik’s story of an ex-boyfriend coming to one of her shows shortly after
their break-up, already with a new girlfriend, inspired Carter and Walsh to play
a couple, with Walsh in a high voice playing Roberts’ ex-girlfriend, obliviously
offering him a DVD of “her” relations with Carter -- complete with extras no
less.

All these Sunday night players step into these scenes with ease and explore them
extensively, more so than the New York version which can be more ADD-like in its
presentation, ending scenes almost as quickly as they are started. Maybe these
players have acquired California personalities that makes them laid back so that
the situations inspiring them play out longer. Even so, the performance never
seems like they are stalling.

It’s New York’s loss that the original UCB trio is only back in town on sporadic
occasions, like the recent Del Close Improv Marathon. The familiar atmosphere
and rapport with their audience makes watching them do their thing feels like
coming home.